Turtle Channel!!!

The young girl spent the first two days searching for the most beautiful flower in the world. She worked very hard, climbing into the hard to reach places.

On Sunday evening, she cut herself very badly against the rocks of a cliff to get to a small landing in the middle of the cliff itself. There she found a very lovely and rare orchid that she knew was worth even more than the peach-coloured rose bush. She happily dug out the orchid plant and put it carefully into her bag. But she did not return to the village yet.

‘Wait’, she thought to herself, ‘I still have time. I may just find the most beautiful flower in the world if I work a little harder’.

So she made her way down the cliff and spent the night sleeping on a branch of a tree. Early the next morning, she woke up and ate a little bread to replenish her strength. She explored more of the land without finding anything new that could match the orchid she currently had inside her bag. As day became noon, she chanced upon a waterfall. She jumped in, happy to bathe and cool off from all her efforts hunting. As she swam to the middle of the waterfall, she could barely make out an outline of a flower at the bottom of the lake. It looked like an unknown species of flower.

‘Wow, that looks even more rare than my orchid!’ She thought excitedly. She took a deep breath, held it and dove into the lake. But she was not even halfway down when she ran short of breath and had to return to the surface. The lake was much deeper than she expected! Undaunted, she tried again, and this time she managed to go a little deeper. But she was still very far from the flower when she had to return to the surface again.

Again and again, the young girl tried. Each time she got a little closer, but each time she was more tired. She had to rest longer in between her tries to catch her breath. After 4 hours of diving, she finally gave up and walked away. But she could not stop thinking about the flower, for as she had drawn closer to the flower, she could see that the flower was indeed very beautiful. It was red in colour, and was about an arm’s length. It COULD just be the flower her mother had told her about. It could actually be the most beautiful flower in the world!!!

She ran back to the waterfall. ‘I will try again and again until I get that flower, even if I have to drown in the process!’ She thought persistently. And so she spent the entire evening and night diving for the flower.

Tuesday morning came, and she was still trying. She had not slept all night, but she did not want to stop. She knew she had to start making her way home soon, or she might not make it back in time. Her mother would be very disappointed in her if she finally would have to join the convent and the Sisterhood.

(To be continued…)